Tesla unveils residential solar roof and new Powerwall battery

Dive Brief:

Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled an integrated solar roof and battery storage product at an event Oct. 28 in Los Angeles. The new roof is designed to mimic several traditional roof designs and will cost less “than a normal roof plus cost of electricity,” according to Musk.

The new 7 kW, 14 kWh battery system is being priced at $5,500 and the system will integrate with Tesla’s electric vehicle chargers. The offering will come from Tesla Energy, the planned brand name for the combined Tesla and SolarCity, should shareholders approve their proposed merger.

The announcement follows Tesla’s official release of the second generation of its grid-scale battery on Thursday night. The Powerpack 2.0uses upgraded power electronics and a new inverter to deliver twice the energy density of its predecessor at a cost competitive with tradition generation, the company announced in a blog post.